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The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is one of the DOT's 10 agencies that deal with intermodal transportation. Its purpose is to ensure the safe and secure movement of goods and people.

FRA field inspectors regularly inspect railroad track, signal and train control systems, as well as operating practices. They also investigate complaints.

Definition

Federal railroads are rail transporters in the United States controlled by the federal government. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, develops and enforces regulations governing railways as well as manages funds from railroads and conducts research to improve the efficiency of rail transportation. The FRA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's intermodal transportation division and its chief executives are the Administrator as well as the Deputy Administrator.

The agency oversees all passenger and freight transportation that utilizes the nation's railway network. Additionally the agency supports the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service and consolidates support from the federal government for rail transportation. In addition, the agency oversees the ownership and operation of all intermodal facilities such as tracks, right-of-way, equipment real property, and rolling stock. It also handles the overall coordination of federal rail transportation programs.

FRA's responsibilities also include establishing through regulation, and after an opportunity for comments, a procedure by which anyone can report to the Secretary Homeland Security any railroad security issues or deficiencies. The agency also formulates policies, conducts inspections, and evaluates the compliance of its rail laws in six different technical disciplines, which include track, signal, and train control; motive power and equipment; operating procedures as well as hazmat and highway-rail grade intersections.

The agency has the responsibility of making sure the railway transportation system is safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable. The agency also requires that railroads to maintain a safe workplace and provide adequate training to their employees. Furthermore, the agency sets and enforces railroad rates to ensure that the public is receiving a fair rate for their transportation services.

The Federal Railroad Administration also enacts and enforces rules to prevent discrimination against railroad employees. It also protects whistleblowers against retaliation from railroad carriers. The agency also establishes an procedure through which railroad employees can file complaints regarding the company's actions.

The primary goal of the FRA is to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods for a strong America today and into the future. The FRA accomplishes this by regulating railroad safety, managing programs for assistance to railroads, conducting research to support improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy and coordination, as well as supporting the development of a rail network, and helping the private sector manage railroads. In the past, railroads were essentially monopolies with little competition. As a result, the industry often abused its position in the market. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, as and other regulatory agencies to control the monopolies' exploitation of railroads.

Purpose

The federal railroad is a government agency that makes rules, oversees funds for rail and studies ways to improve the nation's rail transport system. It manages the railway infrastructure of the United States and supervises freight and passenger railroads. It is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is also charged with maintaining and expanding existing railway systems, ensuring capability of the railroad industry to meet growing demand for freight and travel as well as providing leadership in national and regional system planning.

The main responsibility of the federal government in the rail transportation industry is safety. The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for this. It has a number of divisions that supervise the country's passenger and freight railway operations. The Office of Railroad Safety is the largest of these, with around 350 inspectors. It is responsible for conducting safety inspections in six different technical disciplines, including track signalling, train control, motive and equipment operating procedures, hazmat, and highway-rail grade crosses.

FRA has several departments, including the Office of Railroad Policy and Development. This department is responsible for programs aimed at enhancing passenger and freight rail transport, such as the Northeast Corridor Future. The department is also responsible for the grants that are made to railways and works with other agencies in planning for the country's rail needs.

The FRA also has a duty to enforce federal laws pertaining to railroads and their workers. This includes stopping railroads from using their power to discriminate against employees and making sure that all injured railway staff are taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. The law also prohibits railroads from delay or refuse medical treatment for injured railway workers.

The FRA is the main regulator of the freight and passenger rail industries, but there are other organizations which manage the economic aspects of rail transport. Surface Transportation Board is responsible for establishing rates and managing economics in the sector. It is also responsible for regulating railroad mergers lines sales construction and abandonment. After an open consultation period, the agency is also accountable for establishing regulations that allow anyone to file a complaint about any alleged rail safety violations.

Functions

Railroads transport goods and people between cities in developed countries as well as remote villages in less developed countries. They transport raw materials to manufacturing and processing factories, and then the final products from these facilities to stores and warehouses. Railroads are an essential mode of transportation for a variety of essential products, including coal, oil and grains. In 2020, freight rail moved more than a quarter of country's total freight volume [PDF(PDF).

A federal railroad operates like any other business with departments for marketing, operations, sales, and an executive department. The department of marketing and sales works with current and potential customers to determine the kind of rail services they need and what those services should cost. The operations department then develops rail services that meet these requirements at the lowest price possible to generate revenue for railroads. The executive department supervises the entire operation and ensures that each department is operating efficiently.

The government provides support to railways in a variety of ways from grants to subsidised rates for government-owned transport. Congress also provides funds to build new stations and tracks. These subsidies are usually in addition to the revenues the railroads earn from tickets and freight contracts.

Amtrak is owned by the United States government. It is a quasi public for-profit corporation, with the United States Government as a major stockholder.

The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) primary purpose is to create and enforce safety regulations for railroads. This includes regulating the mechanical conditions of trains, as well as the health and safety of railroad employees. FRA also collects data about rail security to determine trends areas that require improvement or regulatory attention and to track trends.

FRA also has other projects to improve the safety and economy of railway transportation in the United States. For example, the agency is working to remove obstacles that could delay railroads' implementation of positive train control systems (PTC). PTC is a safety system that makes use of sensors and computers to stop a train automatically when it is too close to another object or vehicle.

History

In the 1820s and 1830s, the first railroads in America were built, primarily in New England and Mid-Atlantic. The railroads accelerated industrialization and brought more food products to market in these areas. This made the country more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.

In the late nineteenth century the railroad industry went through a "Golden Age," during which many new railway lines that were more efficient were constructed, and passenger travel by train became more popular. This was largely due to the government's efforts to expand the railroad system. The government, for example provided homesteaders land grants in order to encourage them to move to the West. Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads also partnered to construct the first transcontinental railroad which allowed travelers to travel from New York City to San Francisco within six days.

However, in the first half of the 20th century, demand for railroad passenger services slowed and other transportation options like airplanes and cars gained popularity, while stifling regulations choked railroads competitiveness economically. The industry was plagued by a series of bankruptcies, service cuts, and deferred maintenance. In addition, a misguided federal employers liability railway regulations caused the decline of the railroad industry.

In the year 1970 the federal government started to loosen the regulatory burdens on railroads. Surface Transportation Board was created to oversee economic issues such as railroad rates and mergers. The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates freight and passenger transport and sets rail safety standards, was also created.

Since then, a great amount of investment has been made in the nation's railroad infrastructure. The Northeast Corridor, for example has been renovated to accommodate faster, more modern high speed ground transportation (HSGT) trains. There have also been efforts to improve the efficiency of freight rail systems. In the future, FRA hopes to continue its partnership with all transportation agencies to ensure safe and reliable railroads. It is the agency's job to help make sure that the nation's transportation system is as efficient as it can be.